I have talked recently about feeling slightly spazzy and frazzled and just flustrated.
Did anyone catch that? The use of the word flustrated? WHICH IS NOT A WORD, I REPEAT, IT IS NOT A WORD.
Flustered. Or frustrated. Not both.
Pet peeve, yo!
Anyway, I'm feeling a little calmer now that Husband's crazy time at work is done for the quarter. And I realized that I actually am getting organized because I cleaned up my recipe binder, which had not been touched in a full year, as in, not since Oliver was born. So things aren't anywhere near as chaotic as I was imagining. I guess being the sole person in charge of two kids for days on end can alter one's view of reality just a bit. (Moooooom, move here already! Heh.)
One of the areas I have been wanting to give more attention to is our budget, but MAN is that a drag. Not for Husband. He would delight in giving a ton of focus to the budget, perhaps even doing some spreadsheet fun. But I'm the main shopper so I'm the main spender. And I have been completely averse to tracking it all carefully.
After a high school Facebook friend happened to "like" a blog called 100 Days of Real Food last week, I used some of my spare time to check it out. It's absolutely right up my alley - organic, whole food-style of eating, but realistic. This author of the blog did a 100 day pledge to keep her food and household budget to $125/week, while still maintaining their usual diet of quality foods. It sparked something in me.
I decided that we are going to do same thing, but only for four weeks. To make it easier for me to keep track of things, I'm going to do a cash budget. This will keep it all very much in my face and force me to really think about our purchases. At first Husband made a face about me not using the credit card and continuing to earn precious points, but when I pointed out that I might end up saving us potentially hundreds of dollars versus earning points, he quickly changed his tune.
Right now I am very aware of the cost of some things - like I only buy frozen organic blueberries at Trader Joe's or Organic Valley milk at Lund's or Muir Glen tomatoes at Super Target. I know where I can get the lowest price for each of my very specific grocery items. But I also buy pretty much whatever I want. I am firmly on Team Leftovers and stay on top of the produce so it doesn't go bad before I get to it, but I need to be way more careful about what is coming into the house. We spend a horrifying amount of money on groceries given my own personal bent on buying local & organic, but it can just be a scary amount instead of horrifying.
Also? There has to be way less random alcohol & dessert purchases. If we want those things, we need to make sure they fit into the budget. They have to be enjoyed and not just bought because we want something in that moment. Same with take-out. If we are getting take-out, it better be thoroughly enjoyed.
So the plan, man:
$140 per week on groceries, household stuff, and alcohol
$20 per week on whatever I want (probably a coffee treat and a lunch out with the kids)
All in cash. I recognize that $140 might sound insane in terms of being a ton of money (or maybe not?) but quality, nutritious food is a huge priority so it is what it is. So far I am already down $48 after a trip to the co-op. I bought two organic apples and a locally-sourced kernel of corn. ORGANIC FOR LIFE!
Okay, bought more than that. It was three kernels of corn and the two apples. Full report & what we ate in a week.
I've been having this conversation in my head for weeks now. Things are cheaper here, so for some items I can pay the same price and get the organic item (Annie's mac & cheese, for instance). But the high price of some things scares me. I'm also finding it harder to find organic produce than it was in Vermont...crunchy area that it is.
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna go check out that 100 Days of Real Food. Oh, and I gotta get a house tour up on my blog!
This is awesome! I can't wait to see how it comes out!
ReplyDeleteI am in love with that real food blog - thank you for sharing it! I'm starting the 14 week challenge next Monday. And grocery shopping with cash makes sticking to a budget so much easier. I did that for years (often with just a $20 for the week - not a lot of "real" food there;). I've been wanting to go back to it b/c I always enjoyed shopping that way but I, too, fear loosing out on our precious credit card points. Maybe I'll try it for one month and see how it compares. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI am preparing for big budget changes on Sept 1st- I haven't finalized all plans because Noah is not on board yet, but I was even thinking about starting a separate blog for it. My budget changes are just with spending overall, I want to really clamp down for the year...I will be excited to read how your cash stuff works. I would like to try that too, but when I have tried in the past I failed based on the need to go to the bank or atm once a month to withdraw the money. Apparently that is too difficult for me.
ReplyDeleteVery cool! We use mint.com to track all of our spending. I love it. I am also horrified at what we spend on food as a family of four. Groceries, restaurants, alcohol, all of it. Horrifying. My husband is the shopper so I try to cut him a break since he is a foodie and the cook for our family and, like you, buys all the right things, but...I think we can do better. I notice the months we do better money wise are the months we go grocery shopping once every week- not more not less. What do you mean by "household things?" $140/wk seems doable for food...especially as a stay at home mom doing lunches every day. Interested in seeing how you do! I could talk budgets all day long. I'm super fun to hang out with. ;)
ReplyDeleteLish - So you'll be doing the full-on only real food thing? That's hardcore! I just don't know if I could ever commit/want to give up sugar, fried foods, etc Keep me posted!
ReplyDelete3 22nds - My husband and I need to really sit down and figure out how it's all going to shake out here (some bills already lower, others higher) and then decide how much we want to save per month to buy furniture. But (stating the obvious) finances are a very challenging part of marriage and I consider us to be relatively compatible in terms of our spending (i.e. splurge on vacays, save on clothes kind of stuff) Oh - and I thought of you recently because I now have space for a freezer and I want to do some major meal prep & freezing.
Katie - I haven't fully defined household things in my head, but basically I'm thinking the stuff I would buy at Target/Super Target. TP, diapers, wipes, etc. I like mint and I started it, but it got too complex. Perhaps if we'd been spending less it wouldn't have been so complex, huh? :)
Hardcore, dude. I've always thought about doing an envelope system and then it just sounds too hard so I never have. I have used the cell phone calculator though, a couple of times and that's probably worse. Hey, I'm not totally sure where we met either, but I'm guessing it was at Trollwood? Were you in the costume shop one summer? That rings a bell. And I hear updates from L, of course. :0) I'd love to have a play date. Ava has been spending a lot more time with imaginary friends....it's so sad! Maybe we could meet at a park after it stops being 100 degrees? Oy.
ReplyDeleteYes, we met at Trollwood. I think I knew your sister before you. I did costuming every year except my first year when I was randomly doing some video work for Joseph (and I still remember the time Micheal Walling was giving me some super bossy and blunt direction and it scared the bejesus out of me. I was 12!!!!)
DeleteWe do all of our household shopping in cash. It makes us more accountable for our purchases and I like the challenge! :)
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